Media: subdued atmosphere in the White House after the Republicans' midterm election defeat

Election results

Republicans have lost their majority in both chambers of the US Congress following the midterm elections: according to preliminary data, the Democratic Party won 241 seats in the House of Representatives (218 needed for a majority) and 54 seats in the Senate (51 needed for a majority). This is reported by The Daily Mail, whose publication is cited by Kun.uz. Thus, Donald Trump has become the first president in the last 20 years whose party lost both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections; the last time something like this happened was in 2006 with George W. Bush.

The atmosphere in the White House

The outlet describes a subdued atmosphere inside the presidential residence. “There is a very gloomy mood at headquarters. The situation is grim”, a senior official told The Daily Mail. According to a source close to the president, Trump is barely speaking to his inner circle and “is almost silently watching Fox News, as if frozen in silence.” As the results were being clarified, Trump's supporters began leaving the election-night watch party organized in the East Room of the White House: first senior administration officials left, then some cabinet members. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was present early in the evening, later disappeared from view, and by the time the Democrats' victory in the House of Representatives was announced, the room was almost empty; some staff left not only the reception but the White House itself, heading to nearby bars in Washington.

Searching for the guilty

According to the outlet's sources, senior White House officials are already naming those they consider responsible for the defeat — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “If it weren't for the war with Iran, tonight would have gone very differently. I am confident that in the end the US president will hold Hegseth accountable,” Kun.uz quotes one official as saying. Another source for the newspaper said that Rubio's political career is, in all likelihood, over, adding that this may also apply to other Republicans who influenced Trump's foreign policy. These assessments come from unnamed sources of The Daily Mail and remain unverified claims; no personnel decisions or official reaction from the White House are reported in the publications.